Zoladdiction.

Addiction (/əˈdikSHən/): (n) From the Latin addictionen - The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.
Zoladdiction (/zoh'luh'dikSHən/): (n) From Fanda - The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in Zola.

My Zoladdiction all started with Germinal, back in April 2012, which was part of my 100 Greatest Novels list.

Germinal: How it all started.

I vaguely remember buying it: one of the few books I own that I bought brand new, and I don't recall looking at the other Zolas on the shelf. It was, quite simply, one of a hundred books I wanted to read for my list. I did have hopes for it, and I've mentioned before my mother loves Zola so much she named our cat after him (Zola the black cat, who died back in the 1980s).

How appropriate that it was Germinal. Germinal, meaning "being in the earliest stage of development", as in "germinate". Germinal was not the last book I bought by Zola: I'm now only two short of having the entire Rougon Macquart cycle, and I have a few more others (two are in French and I don't even read French - that is how bad it is!), plus one is on it's way. Read one Zola and you won't want to stop!

And why indeed would you want to? I know a lot of you are familiar with Zola, but I know a lot of you aren't. So where to begin?

Firstly: make April your month! Fanda has all the details, but in short:

All you have to do is:

• Post about your intention to participate in this event, including the level you choose (you can upgrade it later if you want), and books you are going to pick, if you already have the idea. 
• Put links of that post in the linky below. 
• Help us to spread the Zoladdiction, either by putting the Zoladdiction button on your sidebar, or by discussing the event on Twitter using hashtag #Zoladdiction. 
• Start reading Zola’s works when your calendar turns to April 1st, of course :) 
• The master post would be up on April 1st with a linky where you can put your posts about Zola’s books. At the end of the event, o and I might prepare some questions to give you ideas to post your wrap-up (we still have to discuss about this). 

The current Zola collection.

But which book? Ah, that is the question! Zola once wrote, "If I cannot overwhelm with my quality, I will overwhelm with my quantity.", and indeed he was prolific. I have a variety of pictures and quotes on my Tumblr (the Émile Zola section is here), which perhaps might help you pick one, however I'm in the odd situation of reading slightly more obscure Zolas than the more famous ones. Obviously I have read Germinal, and I've finished L'Assommoir but have not yet blogged about it. And, as soon as I finished Germinal I read Thérèse Raquin, but the other big names like Nana and The Debacle, The Beast Within... I've not got to them yet. As for my other reviews, they're all here:

• The Fortune of the Rougon (1870)
• The Kill (1871) 
• The Belly of Paris (1873)
• The Conquest of Plassans (1874)
• The Sin of Abbe Mouret (1875)
• His Excellence (1876)

I will offer two words of caution, and they're both important: Firstly - if you decide to read L'Assommoir, do note that the 1970 Penguin Edition has twenty pages missing, so check that (pages 193 to 212 are repeated). Secondly - be careful of the translator. I'm not yet in a position where I can recommend translators, however I will say that E. A. Vizetelly is generally thought not to be up to scratch. For the English reader, this is slightly awkward as with a few titles, his is the only translator. So just check if you think it will bother you (I have no choice, I'm too far into my Zoladdiction to let anything like that stop me!).

On a more positive note, I'll link some reviews I've seen over this year from a few of my favourite bloggers to help anyone who remains undecided:

• Germinal, by A Literary Odyssey.
• Germinal, by Fanda.
• Germinal, by Roof Beam Reader.
• Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies Paradise) by dovegreyreader.
• The Ladies Paradise, by Lakeside Musing. 
• The Ladies Paradise by A Striped Armchair. 
• L'Assommoir, by Books and Chocolate.
• L'Assommoir, by Fanda.
• The Masterpiece, by Rebecca Reid.
• Nana, by House of Bronze.
• Nana, by The Reading Life.
• Nana, by Tell Me a Story.
• Rentafoil, from Dead Men Tell No Tales, by Lakeside Musing.
• Story of a Madman, by Lakeside Musing.
• Thérèse Raquin by dovegreyreader.
• Thérèse Raquin by Fig and Thistle.
• Thérèse Raquin by Lakeside Musing.
• Thérèse Raquin by Reading Life.
• Thérèse Raquin by Wuthering Expectations

I think that will have to do for now, but if I've missed anyone out then let me know and I'll put a link up.

So, then. I think it goes without saying that I think everyone should join in with this! Really, though: I do strongly urge people to read some Zola, especially if you haven't. His writing is beautiful, vivid, and strong. He writes about injustice better than any other writer I know. He's described as a "social realist", but I would say his writing is reality amplified. He will stay with you; he looks closer with great compassion. If you're interested in the history of the Second Empire, he's essential, and if you love Paris then the experience is yet more fascinating.

As for me, what will I read? I'm sticking to reading the 'Rougon Macquart' cycle in order, so I'm not quite sure where I'll be up to! However, I do plan to read Zola: A Biography by Frederick Brown, and Dead Men Tell No Tales, a collection of short stories. As I say, I have another Zola on the way: For a Night of Love, and I'll see where I'm up to with the Rougon Macquarts. And I really do hope everyone tries to get a Zola in over April - I really do think you'll love him, and part of the joys of book blogging is to meet new authors and to encourage other bloggers to meet them as well, so I'm especially plaintive here! Zola is epic, and Zola knows.